Young Life Adventures Baja!

Baja

Young Life Adventures in Baja, Mexico is a discipleship service camp you won’t want to miss! Join us for a life-changing week of growing closer to Jesus, making new friends, and serving the people of Mexico.

Young Life Adventures Baja blends all you love about Young Life camp with a chance to make a difference in the world. You will stay in the comfortable setting of Rancho Sordo Mudo, a school for the deaf in the Guadalupe Valley of Mexico. At the Ranch, we’ll eat delicious meals, enjoy club and cabin times, hang out at the pool and around camp, and enjoy the beauty of Baja. Each day we’ll leave the Ranch to serve the surrounding communities in different ways. You’ll get to befriend orphans and other Mexican children and help build a house for a family in need. We believe your time at Young Life Adventures Baja will change your heart and life forever. Don’t miss this incredible experience!

Activities

House Building • Beach Day • Volunteer at Orphanage

Club & Cabin Time • Construction Help at Medical Clinic

Run Day Camps for Local Children • Pool Time

Dates

Week

Dates

Week 1

July 5-10

Week 2

July 11-16

Week 3

July 18-23

FAQ

What is Rancho Sordo Mudo?

Rancho Sordo Mudo is a private, resident school for deaf children during the school year. They have collaborated with Young Life to serve as our base camp for these weeks. RSM exists on 500 acres located in the midst of vineyards, wineries, and is neighbored by an exclusive resort. RSM has operated for 45 years and serves as home for students and teachers throughout the school year. Rooms are nice, clean, dorm-styled with flushing toilets and hot showers.

You can see parts of the property in this YLA Baja video. The story of RSM and its founders was made into a documentary called Hearing Everett. You can watch the trailer here.

Is it safe?

Yes. RSM is gated and secure. Young Life uses International S.O.S. to make decisions on level of risk to where we travel and this area has been ruled as safe. Should the area be deemed unsafe for any reason, we will leave, or cancel the trip before it happens. RSM is located in the wine country part of Mexico, thus surrounded by high-end tourism. However, there are risks with any travel or participation in service activities.

In case of any medical emergencies, there is a Fire Department/Medical clinic with an ambulance located a quarter mile down the road from our base camp. We will have a U.S. physician on site at RSM as well as an EMT along with us on service projects. Finally, there will be two registered nurses and a physician’s assistant at our service project site.

Is there filtered/safe water to drink?

YES. There is filtered save water from a private well at base camp and every location we go to, we have filtered/safe drinking water. Campers will be given refillable water bottles to have on them at all times.

What will you be doing?

Our primary goal is to help meet the needs of the people in Mexico by supporting local ministries that have been in operation for 20-30 years. We want to serve the local communities by meeting both their physical and relational needs and help create sustainable resources which continue after we leave. We have three days of leaving camp to go serve, which will contain a combination of building projects overseen by a US site foreman and working with orphanages.

How can I contact my child during the camp week?

You can contact them through RSM or through the members of the Assigned Team. We will send out email addresses and phone numbers prior to the trip. Sometimes cell reception is limited, and we encourage a text message prior to a call.

We will be collecting all the campers’ cell phones prior to our arrival in Mexico. This is not only to help limit distractions but also because of the high cost for using cell phones internationally. For emergency situations, campers will have access to land lines at the base camp and Young Life staff members’ cell phones to use.

An additional way for you to be aware of what we’re doing is to follow us on social media. YL Adventures Facebook, instagram, and twitter will be updated regularly throughout the camp week.

How will the group travel?

We will be using chartered buses to/from the San Diego airport, and in country from base camps to service projects.

How and where are meals prepared?

Meals are prepared on site, by the ranch staff (by the on-site year-long cook). We have limited ability for accommodating dietary restrictions.

Language

We have people on our team, and with the ministries we are working with, who speak both Spanish and English.

*A reminder that modesty is key when it comes to clothing attire. We want to be culturally sensitive and model Jesus well. This tends to affect girls more than guys. Lladies, please make sure your shorts are not too short, and your shirts aren’t too low cut or show your midriff. Better to err on the side of too modest & covered up than not modest enough.

Arrival & Departure Times

We ask all areas to meet at the San Diego Airport, Terminal 1, Baggage Claim Zone H by 11:00 a.m. on Thursday and to plan on departing from the San Diego Airport after 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Electronic Devices

We will withhold all electronics from guests for the duration of your stay. This includes any music devices, cell phones, etc. These items should be collected upon arrival. Bags/containers marked with your area name will be provided when you arrive in your vehicles.

Emergency Contact Information

In case of emergencies back home, parents may contact the Camp Director for your session.

July 5-23: Rick Wilson: ‭(602) 469-1163‬

You may also reach Adventures Baja Director (James Thomsen) as a secondary emergency contact at (831) 331-1483.

HEALTH FORMS: The Health, Consent and Release Form (YL6007) is available on the Young Life website/staff resources. Online health forms are okay for use for Young Life Adventures, but please print a copy of each health form and bring it with you as well. We will need paper copies to go on activities each day.

10 DAY CHECK IN: Please mark the due date of your 10 Day Check-In on your calendar and e-mail jamesthomsen@mac.com 1) the number of male campers and leaders, 2) female campers and leaders, 3) any prayer requests we can be aware of, and 4) dietary needs of kids or leaders. Please note we are very limited to accommodate food preferences. If you expect a drastic change in your numbers, please don’t wait until 10 days before to let us know.